INTRODUCTION
English is more and more important and Hoang (2018) confirmed that the ability to communicate in English has become a passport to a better job not only in the tourism and hospitality industries but in many other enterprises also so English is taught in schools, in universities and in evening foreign language centers across the country in Viet Nam and there are now more teachers and students of English than of any other subjects Although speaking skill is regarded one of the most difficult aspects of language learning, many language learners find it difficult to express themselves in spoken language And one of the best ways to improve English speaking skill is learning English as early as possible With that trend, more and more parents seek and choose a suitable English center for their children to study English when they are at the age of kindergarten level and one of the most attractive factors attracting these parents is native teacher Native teachers are considered to be one of the most crucial elements affecting the success of students learning English speaking
According to Hoang (2018), ― Various English centres, public and private, have been established and a large number of foreign and joint venture language schools, language centers of universities, professional associations, government agencies, socio-economic organizations and private enterprises which teach English and use it as the medium of communication have been set up throughout Vietnam‖ Beside the presence of some famous centers such as the British Council, the American Apollo, the Cambridge International Examinations, and the American TOEFL and TOEIC, several private English-medium schools have been established chiefly in big cities in
Vietnam, attracting a considerable number of children from the rich families
Thanks to the efforts made by them, English in Vietnam has been developed faster and the quality of English teaching and learning has been increasingly improved However, the real quality as well as the role of native speakers at these medium centers haven‘t been fully studied
Clever School English Centre is a small English center in Thanh Tri,
Ha Noi After more than 10-years of establishment and development, this center has been chosen and trusted by hundreds of parents and children due to the professional and experienced English teachers However, the real quality of native teachers at the center in helping students learning English speaking has not met their requirements A lot of young learners here get troubles in speaking English and for the above reasons, the author decided to choose the topic ―A survey of the role of native speaker on learning English speaking for young learners at a foreign language center in Hanoi‖ in the hope of helping students improve learning English speaking
2 Aims and objectives of the study
The study aims at investigating the role of native-speakers on learning English speaking for young learners at the Clever School English Centre
This overall aim was specified into the following objectives:
- Investigating the current situation of English speaking lessons of young learners with native speakers at the center
- Finding out the role of native speakers for young learners to speak English of at the Centre
- Proposing some solutions to improve the role of native speakers for young learners to learn English speaking at the center
In order to achieve the above aims, the following research questions are suggested:
- What is the current situation of English speaking lessons of young learners with native speakers at the center?
- What are the roles of native speakers to young learners at the center to speak English?
- What should be done to improve the role of English native speakers in teaching English speaking skills for young learners at the Center?
The study was conducted at the Clever English Center It attempted to investigate the issues and problems that arise from fifty young learners in speaking class with five native speakers as well as finding out how the native speakers affected on learning English speaking of young learners at the Center From above findings, the recommendations for improving the role of English native speakers in teaching English speaking skills for young learners at the Center were employed
Both qualitative and quantitative methods were chosen for this study in order to achieve the tasks mentioned above A survey questionnaire was designed for 50 young learners; this is considered as the main instrument to find out the current status of English speaking teaching lessons of native speakers for young learners at the center Besides, qualitative method was conducted with classroom observations which aimed to assess the roles of native speakers in teaching performance on speaking skill This was a necessary step for the researcher to double – check what was happening in speaking lessons After all, the data was collected, sorted, and analyzed quantitatively data to obtain realized results
To end with, from the collected data, the recommendations for improving the role of English native speakers in teaching English speaking skills for young learners at the Center were drawn out
It is supposed that the study will contribute more understanding on the roles of native speakers both theoretically and practically The first point is that the study will investigate the current situation of English speaking lessons of native speakers for young learners as well as the effects of them at the medium English center From that, the findings of the study will be shared among English teaching centers and some positives solutions helping young learners to speak English well will be applied Especially, the findings will be used as a data base for further study
The study is organized three parts as follows:
Chapter 1, INTRODUCTION, presents rationale, objectives, research questions, scope, methods, significance, and design of the study
Chapter 2, LITERATURE REVIEW, presents a review of literature and theoretical background and related studies
Chapter 3, METHODOLOGY, introduces the research context and methodology of the study including the context, the subject, the data collection instruments, data collection procedure, and data analysis
Chapter 4, FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION, gives a detailed presentation of data and detailed description of data analysis This focuses on presenting, analyzing and discussing the results obtained from the study based on the survey questionnaire and class observation Besides, the chapter also presents some discussion and interpretations of the findings of the study, and then gives possible suggestions for native speakers, young learners and managing board of the center
Chapter 5, CONCLUSION, offers a summary of the key findings, implications, limitations, and future directions for further study.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Review of previous studies
The topic of NESTs and NNSTs has been received interests and attentions of many researchers and studies This part briefly reviews some studies relating my thesis in both Viet Nam and Overseas
In this part, the researcher shows that the studies conducted in some countries where English is taught as a foreign language They are the studies by Dr Ismet SAHIN (2005), Yuko Goto Butler (2007), Rahmila Murtiana
Dr Ismet SAHIN (2005) investigated the effect of native speaker teachers of English on the attitudes and success of EFL learners in Turkish setting The results based the analyzed questionnaires confirmed that the learners who were exposed to native speaker teachers of English had more positive attitudes towards target language community and were more successful in English lessons compared to those who were not exposed to any native speaker teachers of English However, the study did not make clear the EFL learners were young or old
Yuko Goto Butler (2007) aimed to identify perceptional factors that native speakers were the ideal language teacher This study focused on
Japanese elementary school teachers who had been asked to introduce English activities in their classes Based on a detailed questionnaire, the study found their self-assessed English proficiency levels, their attitudes towards nonstandard forms of English, and their sense of pride in their own language and cultural heritage However, it is unclear to what extent the present study‘s findings can be applied to other teaching contexts
Rahmila Murtiana (2011) aimed to investigate the students‘ perceptions of native speaker teachers (NST) and non-native speaker teachers (NNST) To collect the data, the researcher developed a set of questionnaire and from the data analysis, it revealed that the students had positive attitude toward both native speaker and non-native speaker teachers However, the students also encountered some problems during the learning process with both native and non-native teachers Thereby, the writer attempted to put forward several ideas related to teacher education and professional development, expecting that non-native teachers would be able to make the most of their potentials
The study only focused on the perceptions of students of NSTs and NNSTs at a university in Indonesia for learning English language in general
Omar Al-Nawrasy (2013) investigated the effect of the native English language teachers in comparison with nonnative English language teachers on the tenth grade students‘ achievement in speaking skills The instrument of the study was a speaking test implemented at the end of term one of the academic year 2008/2009 The findings revealed that there was no significant difference among students‘ overall speaking achievement test scores and the author confirmed that a trained, proficient and kind teacher who enjoyed his/her job would be effective and popular with students, regardless where they were from However, the study only focused on the students in the public schools where exposure to English was limited to few hours per week, and where chances to speak communicatively were also limited
As we know, different research method and different research context result in different findings And we can recognize that there are many factors affecting English speaking skill and native teacher is one of the most important factors helping the learners learn to speak English well
However, the roles of native speakers for young learners in learning speaking English at private centers have not been fully mentioned yet
2.1.2 Previous studies in Viet Nam
The students‘ perception of NESTs and NNESTs is not a new area with researchers in the world as well as in Viet Nam Some domestic studies have been selected and discussed here:
Walkinshaw and Duong (2012) had a paper examining a common belief that learners of English as a foreign language prefer to learn English from native-speaker teachers rather than non-native speakers of English In addition, it investigated the relative value ascribed by Vietnamese EFL students to native and non-native speakers compared with other professional, personal, pedagogical, cultural and linguistic qualities that are the hallmark of a competent language teacher However the limitation of the study was that the data were collected from tertiary institutions only
Le Pham Hoai Huong ( 2013) discussed the game activities that were used in primary English classes in a center in a city in Vietnam Video recording the classes and interviewing the teachers showed that various play activities, for example, bingo, miming, hangman, and TPR (Total Physical Response) activities were employed in these classes The paper reported the findings of a small scale study which could not be generalized Under those circumstances, the suggestions were also offered regarding kinds of game activities to be employed and how to use them to target certain skills and language areas in primary English classes Different from that, the roles of teachers in the center were not made clear NESTs and NNESTs
Tuan, N H., & Mai, T N (2015) investigated the problems that the students at a public High School experienced in speaking lessons and the factors affecting their speaking performance The research instruments used in this study were questionnaires and class observation As the results, the study indicated that the students faced many problems in learning speaking English at a high school and one of the most important factors is because of NNESTs
On the contrary, the recommendations of the research did not include the suggestions that native teachers should be hired to teach English at school to improve the students‘ attitude and motivation as well their pronunciation
To put in a nutshell, the author mentioned the above domestic studies aiming that NESTs are better than NNESTs at teaching speaking skill and game activities in primary English classes are needed
In the light of the studies above, we may conclude that native speaker teachers have an effect on students‘ attitudes and motivation If their effect is positive, they can contribute to their students‘ achievement, in a way Some gaps, notwithstanding, have not been filled up to meet our curiosity on native speaker teachers on teaching speaking skill In this thesis, the author will hopefully fill out the crucial role of native teachers for younger learners at English private center on teaching speaking skill.
Review of theoretical background
There are a lot of definitions of the word ―speaking‖ that have been suggested by the researchers in language learning In Webster New World Dictionary, speaking is to say words orally, to communicate as by talking, to make a request, and to make a speech (Nunan, 1995) According to Chaney
(1998), speaking is the process of making and sharing meaning by using verbal and non-verbal symbols in different contexts Brown (1994) and Burns and Joyce (1997) defined speaking as an interactive process of making meaning that includes producing, receiving, and processing information Its form and meaning are dependent on the context in which it occurs, including the participants themselves, their collective experiences, the physical environment, and the purposes for speaking It is often spontaneous, open- ended, and evolving However, speech is not always unpredictable Language functions (or patterns) that tend to recur in certain discourse situations (e.g., declining an invitation or requesting time off from work), can be identified and charted (Burns & Joyce, 1997) Speaking requires that learners not only know how to produce specific points of language such as grammar, pronunciation, or vocabulary (linguistic competence), but also that they understand when, why, and in what ways to produce language (sociolinguistic competence) Finally, if students want to be able to speak fluently in
English, they need to be able pronounce phonemes correctly, use appropriate stress and intonation patterns and speak in connected speech (Harmer, J 2007)
To put it simply, the author think that speaking as an interactive process of making meaning that includes producing, receiving, and processing information suitably in a defining context For an effectively English speaking lesson, students need to speak fluently and correctly in English It must be remembered that the interaction between teacher and students and students with students is the key point to decide how effective the English speaking lesson is
According to Turk, Christopher (1985), speaking process includes three main steps in speaking class as followings:
Pre speaking begins before students actually speak It also provides opportunities for students to plan and organize for speaking Some purposes fro pre- speaking are that students generate and explore ideas for speaking topics through activities Moreover, pre speaking focus learners‘ attention to speaking The stage is to do with raising metacognitive awareness of students about speaking It has two main purposes: to encourage learners to a speaking development and prepare learners to approach a specific speaking task in a lesson by the teacher In addition, the teacher prepares students for the actual speaking activity and asks them to do some language awareness activities such as vocabulary/grammar related to asking and giving directions
The purpose of real communication is to accomplish a task, such as conveying a telephone message, obtaining information, or expressing an opinion Authentic communication involves an information gap; each participant has information that the other does not have In addition, to achieve their purpose, participants may have to clarify their meaning or ask for confirmation of their own understanding To create classroom speaking activities that will develop communicative competence, instructors need to incorporate a purpose and an information gap and allow for multiple forms of expression Instructors need to combine structured output activities, which allow for error correction and increased accuracy, with communicative output activities that give students opportunities to practice language use more freely
Following speaking experiences, both formal and informal, it is important to have students reflect upon their performance because students who have opportunities to reflect upon their speaking experience grow in their abilities to speak effectively Additionally, post-speaking activities serve to set goals for improvement When students reflect upon their performance, they begin to recognize what they have done well and where they require improvement ln discussing or developing criteria for assessing a variety of speaking experiences, both teachers and peers may be invited to comment
Peers may comment through a structure similar to a writing conference and may give oral feedback, written feedback, or a combination of the two
Conferences may be guided by specific questions determined by the teacher or may take the form of conversation between peers
And during these above steps, a number of widely-used categories of speaking activity should be implemented in the classroom by teacher and students ( Hammer, 2007) These activities include acting from a script, communication games, discussion, Prepared talks, questionnaires, simulation and role-play
*Acting from a scrip: The teacher can ask the students to act out scenes from plays and/or their course books, sometimes filming the results Students will often act out dialogues they have written themselves
* Communication games: There are many communication games, all of which aim to get students talking as quickly and fluently as possible Two particular categories are worth mentioning here: information-gap games and television and radio games
*Discussion: this ranges from highly formal, whole-group staged events to informal small-group interactions which include Buzz groups, Instant comment, Formal debates, Unplanned discussion and Reaching a consensus Each of discussion has their own benefit
*Prepared talks: One popular kind of activity is the prepared talk, where a student (or students) makes a presentation on a topic of their own choice Such talks are not designed for informal spontaneous conversation; because they are prepared, they are more 'writing-like' than this However, if possible, students should speak from notes rather than from a script
*Questionnaires: Questionnaires are useful because, by being pre- planned, they ensure that both questioner and respondent have something to say to each other Depending upon how tightly design they are, they may well encourage the natural use of certain repetitive language patterns – and thus can be situated in the middle of our communication continuum Students can design questionnaires on any topic that is appropriate As they do so, the teacher can act as a resource, helping them in the design process The results obtained to questionnaires can then form the basis for written work, discussions or prepared talks
*Simulation and role-play: This activity can be used to encourage general oral fluency or to train students for specific situations, especially where they are studying English for specific purposes (ESP).When students are doing simulations and role-plays, they need to know exactly what the situation is, and they need to be given enough information about the background for them to function properly Of course, we will allow them to be as creative as possible, but if they have almost no information, they may find this very difficult to do
Among the above activities mentioned by Hammer (2007), communication games, discussion, prepared talks, questionnaires, simulation and role-play are regularly used in the English speaking classrooms but how often the teachers organize them and how effectively they use them we will explore in the case of this study
Generally speaking, the author supposes that three steps such as pre- speaking, while-speaking and post-speaking must be followed but whether they are effective or not totally depends on the classroom speaking activities between teacher and students
1.2.1.3 Factors that cause speaking difficulties to EFL learners
According to Ur (1996), there are many factors that cause difficulty in speaking, and they are inhibition, lack of topical knowledge, low participation, and mother-tongue use
Inhibition is the first problem that students encounter in class When they want to say something in the classroom they are sometimes inhibited
They are worried about making mistakes and fearful of criticism
The second problem is that learners complain that they cannot remember anything to say and they do not have any motivation to express themselves
Summary
All the theoretical background of the research presented in this chapter aims to give a general view to the readers about definition of speaking, native speakers, young learners and review of previous studies from overseas and Vietnam In addition, the author also presents the details of these aspects such as classroom speaking activities, factors that cause speaking difficulties, roles of EFL/ESL teachers in teaching English speaking, characteristics of young learners, essential principles of how to facilitate young learners learn English
On the whole, the theoretical background is informative and clear for the author to continue with the research The next chapter will present the research methodology.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Restatement of research questions
The current study aims at investigating the role of native speakers on learning English speaking for young learners at Clever School English Centre
Therefore, the author attempts to find the answers for the following questions:
- What is the current situation of English speaking lessons of young learners with native speakers at the center?
- What are the roles of native speakers to young learners at the center to speak English?
- What should be done to improve the role of English native speakers in teaching English speaking skills for young learners at the Center?
The setting of the study
The center has got 24 teachers who are young, from the age of 25 to 38 with 1- 10 year teaching experience Among them, 7 full-time and 8 part-time non-native English teachers are hired there Moreover, most of them graduated from the famous universities in Vietnam such as Foreign Trade University, Vietnam National University, Hanoi - University of Language and International Studies, Hanoi National University of Education and etc They are well – trained and qualified, however, some of them are too young and still lack teaching experience These non-native English teachers are in charge of 20 classes on teaching listening, reading, writing and language focus with 2 periods per week for each class Every year, they often attend training courses organized by the center to learn new English methods or how to raise the quality of teaching English Relating to native English teachers, there are 9 teachers with 3 full-time and 6 part-time native English teachers In particular, the native teachers at the Centre have international certificates such as TESOL and CELTA, with different countries such as the US, UK and Australia and have experience from 4-7 years of teaching speaking English
They are in charge of 10 classes teaching speaking English with 1 period per week a class
In term of young learners, there are about 120 students who are mostly from the age of kindergarten to middle school Most of them aim to learn English not only for improving their speaking but also 3 other English skills, especially for the ages of 9 to 14 However, their English ability at the same age is not the same and their speaking is not good enough
Regarding to facilities, the center is regarded as a modern and well- equipped one Classrooms are spacious and designed to international standards with the overhead, projector, TV, DVD player, cassette player In particular, all the classrooms are equipped and arranged scientifically, which makes the students comfortable, relaxed during the study With the aim of helping students to develop their listening and speaking skills, the number per class is from 8 to 12 students on average And the chairs, tables and board are changeable so it is convenient for teachers and students in the classroom to interact directly with each other and various activities can be carried out flexibly
At the center, the curriculum is structured with amazing and various content which is clearly classified according to the students‘ ability and level
The course books for teaching English are mostly designed by the experienced teachers in the center and the contents of them are based on the famous course books for young learners such as My Little Island level, Family and Friends , Amazing, Get it UP, Oxford Phonics World, Grammar friend, Starters, Movers, Flyers at all levels These course books create the attraction and encouragement for the students to study and improve their speaking skill
Besides, the different activities in classroom are always paid attention
They include singing a song or chant, reading aloud poems, making dialogue in pairs or in groups or role play, presentation, playing games, etc The combination of learning and playing usually helps students feel more active and self-confident in speaking
From the above information, it is not denied that the center‘s facilities are well equipped and teacher‘s abilities are qualified However, the number of native speakers at the center is limited and some non-native speaker teachers are too young and their teaching methods maybe not suitable with young learners.
Participants
50 students in Immediate program class were chosen for the survey
They are kind, friendly and honest The reason why the author chose these participants because these students have learnt for the center for a long time and they understand the roles of native speakers in learning English speaking skill
Besides, the author attended in five English speaking classes of which the experienced native speaker teachers taught, three full-time and two part- time, because they have qualified teaching methods and more teaching experiences In these classes, Vietnamese assistants who supported the native teachers were not mentioned in the author‘s observation since they only stood, moved around to interpret in necessary case The author only focus on the native speakers‘ pronunciation, proficiency as well as abundant vocabulary and structure source which were used in teaching students in speaking skill.
Data collection instruments
The data collection instruments used to conduct this study are questionnaire and class observation
A survey questionnaire with closed questions was administered to collect data from 50 students at the immediate classes at Clever School English Centre
The questionnaire consists of 14 questions which are designed in four parts with aiming at answering the three research questions mentioned above
To get this aim, the questionnaire is categorized into the following groups:
Information on the reality of English speaking lessons
Information on the roles of native teachers in speaking lessons
Suggetions for improving the roles of native speakers in English speaking lesson of younger learners
In order to collect reliable data and information from the subjects, questionnaires for students were well instructed for the participants to be clear about the questionnaire
3.4.2 Class observation of the author
Based on the results of survey questionnaires, a class observation sheet was designed There are three main parts in the sheet including the teacher‘s preparation, teacher‘s presentation and the interaction of teacher and student
In addition, three speaking learning classes are attended by the author
The purpose of class observation is to find out how native English teachers teach the students to speak English, what teaching methods they have used to achieve effective results as well as reassess the young learners‘ the author can know what the students prefer to learn, why they feel interested and effective when learning speaking English with native speakers and what difficulties that students and native teachers met during the speaking lessons
From the observed facts and analyzed results from the questionnaires and the class observation, specific suggestions were made for native English teachers to improve the quality of English speaking lesson.
Data collection procedures
The questionnaire was distributed to 50 students from class of immediate program in order to get information from them Students were informed in Vietnamese about the purpose, methods, and requirements of the collection of the data to make sure they all got the idea about what they would have to do and were willing to take part in the study Because the participants are young learners, it was difficult to get information in a limited time
Although all information was explained clearly, slowly and carefully, the author spent a week getting a full questionnaire data
The next step was that the researcher contacted some native English teachers, asking them for permission to attend their classes At last, the author had the agreement of five native English teachers so that five class observations were implemented During the lessons, they were all supported by Vietnamese assistants in language interpretation However, the roles of these Vietnamese teachers in these lessons were rather vague and the author only paid attention to the performance of native speakers in class.
Analysis of data
The author collected the data from questionnaires and observation separately From the information collected through survey questionnaires and class observations, it is time to count percentage and analyze all preliminary data in person, which can help the researcher have overview of the results and outcome in the study data were synthesis and sorted The items in the questionnaires and observation will be clarified clearly such as current situation of English speaking lessons, the roles of native teachers in speaking lessons, Suggestions for improving the roles of native speakers, Teacher’s preparation in class, The interaction between teacher and students, between students and students Therefore the author supposes to analyze the results of questions according to each of information items in questionnaire and observations and the results will be presented in forms of bar charts.
Summary
In short, in this chapter, the author has described in detail the setting of the study, the participants, instruments, data collection procedures and data analysis method used in this study Some major findings will be presented and discussed in the next chapter.
DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDING
Data analysis
4.1.1 Questionnaire for the students 3.1.1.1 Information on the current situation of English speaking lessons
The below bar chart illustrates the reality of English speaking learning lessons at the Clever English center
Figure 3.1: The reality of English speaking teaching lessons
Overall, most students felt interested and funny during the speaking lessons because they could play various games and 76% of them agreed that English was used during the lesson Besides, 56% of them thought that
Interesting Vocabulary English use Games Topic Songs and stories
DisagreeNeutralAgree vocabulary was supplied to them during lesson In general, the positive attitude of students on the speaking lesson are rather clear The percentage of students choosing ―disagree‖ for English use and games in lesson is very low
But in the field of topic and telling stories, the percentage of ―disagree‖ students is rather high That fact shows that there is a limitation for students to present the topic and tell the stories in front of the class or the number of students can do these activities is limited
3.1.1.2 Information on the roles of native teachers in speaking lessons
With the results analyzed above, there is no denying that the students really liked the speaking lessons with native speakers Why can the native teachers do that? What are the roles of them in speaking lessons? Below chart will present their roles in speaking lessons
Figure 3.2: The roles of native teachers in speaking lessons
It is clear that students highly appreciated the ability of organizing game activity (counting 82%) and an abundant and reliable source on pronunciation and vocabulary of native teachers (counting 76%) Besides,
Motivater Source Organizer Presenter Feedback provider Participant
DisagreeNeutralAgree they were always friendly, enthusiastic and patient with students so the atmosphere of English speaking class was open and warm Moreover, 58% of students agreed that their native teachers all corrected their wrong pronunciation during their communication With these facts, the author realized that the native teachers could create a quite good motivation for young learners
Beside the above outstanding benefits, the native teachers also were not good at providing new words and phrases on board, guiding students to make dialogue or presentation in front of class These facts can be explained that their students are the younger learners at kindergarten and primary levels so they had to teach them by communication and game activities but not writing
However, the percentage of students disagreeing that the native teachers spoke English slowly and clearly counts 48% The author is certain that it is because of many elements, not only the native teachers The first element is because of limited listening ability of students Then it may be because of the unfamiliar accent of the teachers In addition, the teacher did not provide enough new words at the beginning so students could not understand them
In summary, although the native speakers created a positive motivation for children during speaking lesson, they still did not implement some usual methods regularly and sufficiently as non-native speakers did such as writing details on board or supplying new words in advance This may cause some misunderstanding or low reaction for students
3.1.1.3 Suggetions for improving the roles of native speakers in English speaking lesson of younger learners
With two questions on the favorite activities and topics, the author could collect the data to improve the roles of native speakers in English speaking lesson of younger learners
Finger 3.3: The favorite activities in speaking lessons by native speakers
Playing games was the most favorite activity that younger learners chose 58% of students chose ―Role play‖ and 46% of them liked ― sing‖ activities This is easy to understand because of the own characteristics of young learners They like to play games or changeable activities They do not like to sit in a stable place and do tasks Singing activity and role play may create an active, exciting learning atmosphere
In the contrast, ―listen and repeat‖ is normally boring and uninteresting so the young students did not choose much, 62% of them chose ―disagree‖ and only 28% chose ―Agree‖ Besides, most of younger students lack of vocabulary and structures to speak, express their ideas or they could not remember the details of English stories so they do not like ―tell story‖ That fact can be explained
Many activities had not been provided in the questionnaires so young students could not know what and how they were so most of young students chose ―neutral‖
Sing Role play Play games Tell story Others
Finger 3.4: The favorite topics during speaking lesson by native speakers
In general, there are various interesting topics which the young learners learnt at the Clever English center however the author only chose the most popular and easiest ones It is obvious that they like topics on number, color, family, toy, pet, classroom objects and clothes much more because these topics are familiar with their daily life They can easily see the objects relating to these topics But the topics about daily life and especially city were not chosen much There are two reasons that are because of their difficult and unfamiliar vocabulary The percentage of ―others‖ counts 66% of ―neutral‖ because they did not what they were From that facts, the author reassumed that the more familiar and easier topics, the more interesting the young learners
4.1.2 Class observation sheet 3.1.2.1 Teacher’s preparation in class
In terms of teacher‘s preparation, the author found that the native English teachers did not perform this well They did not overview the content
Number, color Family, toy, pet Clothes, classroom object Daily activities City Others
DisagreeNeutralAgree which they would provide the students and the targets the students would have to get after the speaking lesson
In addition, the author did not find the relation between the previous lesson and the current one when the native English teachers started the lesson
As the result, the students cannot remember the knowledge that they had been taught before and the vocabulary and structures in the previous lesson were not reminded to them
Besides, the teachers did not write the new words or phrases on the board regularly so some students could not catch the meaning of them clearly
When attending class, the author found that both advantages and disadvantages of native English teachers were shown
Regarding to their advantages, they presented the content of the tasks slowly, clearly and confidently so it was an effective way for students to practice listening and speaking correctly Besides, they aslo use various vocabulary in natural way that forces students to guess the meaning of the new words As the result, the students can improve their vocabulary and listening ability by listening to the native teachers
However, their disadvantages in the speaking lesson were not completely avoided Firstly, the activities in the classroom were very general and there were no transition among speaking activities so it was not obvious for students to know what they would do next Secondly, the native English teachers paid attention too much on game activities The remaining activities such as practicing speaking English by looking at pictures and repeating words or enhancing listening, speaking, reading and writing were not implemented fully In addition, the native teachers spoke a lot and students followed their direction to join the activities There was no presentation of students or mono talks in front of class so the author did not have chance to know if the native teachers corrected the learners‘ wrong pronunciation Last but not least, the teaching method they used was presentation and flash card so it was only suitable for kindergarten and primary levels but not for secondary level because these learners have to tackle with their exams at their school
3.1.2.3 The interaction between teacher and students
Relating to this field, the author hoped to explore the communication between teacher and students in activities of teachers‘ explaining, praising, encouraging, repeating words, giving information, correcting mistakes, requesting, displaying question, giving instruction, or smiling And the author was not surprised about the result that most of classroom activities were teacher fronted The interaction happened when the teacher checked students‘ understanding and asked student to answer the question Indeed, the teacher asked the students to question the teacher if they were still confused about the material or needed additional information Because there were cultural and linguistic disagreements, teachers sometimes answered the student‘s questions unclearly But after all, native English teachers always create a learning environment in class which was warm, open and friendly for the students
That is the reason why students love to learn English with native teachers than non-native teachers
3.1.2.4 The interaction between students and teacher
Through the author‘s observation, the interaction between students and teacher occurred when students asked the teacher about something that they did not Interaction between students and teacher make sense Students also asked the teacher new vocabulary during the lesson Sometimes, they got the direct response or they were given a clue to take the road again With this method, they could easily keep them in their mind or awake their thought
Some major findings and discussions
4.2.1 The current situation of English speaking lessons with native speakers of young learners 3.2.1.1 The native teacher’s preparation before the lesson
Although flashcard and handouts are usually prepared for each lesson but the author found that the native English teachers did not overview the content which they would provide the students and the targets the students would have to get after the speaking lesson In addition, there was not the relation between the previous lesson and the current one when the native
English teachers started the lesson As the result, the students cannot remember the knowledge that they had been taught before and the vocabulary and structures in the previous lesson were not reminded to them Besides, the new words or phrases were not fully written on the board regularly so some students could not catch the meaning of them clearly
3.2.1.2 The content of the lesson
Three steps of pre-speaking, while speaking and after speaking were not implemented clearly The native speakers started the lesson with a game or some exciting activities on the topics which are not presented in the course book of learners so they are difficult to follow Most topics in the speaking lesson are easy and familiar with student‘s life
3.2.1.3 The interaction between teacher and students, students and teacher, students and students
In general, native English teachers always created a speaking learning environment which was warm, open and friendly for the students They gave many questions to ask the students, which motivated their students to think and answer in English Based on the students‟ responses, it was found that students were still not confident with their ability in English despite their experience having learned from a native speaker They felt nervous when they had to practice their English with native speaker because they are afraid if the native speaker does not understand them The author supposed that the difficulty of students in understanding native speaker becomes the major concern because sometimes native speaker speaks at a pace which students think as too fast Therefore, some students expect that native teacher can talk slowly Besides, with some inconvenient feelings when they encounter with the different culture brought by native speaker, it could be overcome by providing native speaker teacher some kind of orientation program before they are assigned to teach at certain institution The orientation program may include the cultural learning and local language learning Native speaker teacher could also learn from non-native teachers In this way, students‘ expectation that native speaker teachers are aware of students‟ cultural background as well as their limited ability in English could hopefully be met
After all, the communication among students in English is still limited and passive They only use English when they play games or join the same activities together; in other cases they keep using the mother tongue
3.2.1.4 Teaching method of native teachers
Firstly, the activities in the classroom are very general and there is no transition among speaking activities so it is not obvious for students to know what they would do next Secondly, the native English teachers pay attention too many on game activities The remaining activities such as practicing speaking English by looking at pictures and repeating words or enhancing listening, speaking, reading and writing are not implemented fully In addition, the native teachers speak a lot and amount of students are not able follow them There is no presentation of students or mono talks in front of class so the correction for the learners‘ wrong pronunciation will be limited
Last but not least, the teaching method they use was presentation and flash card so it is only suitable for kindergarten and primary levels but not for secondary level because these learners have to tackle with their exams at their school
3.2.1.5 The achieved results after lessons
With the activities in class, the students need to practice speaking English more so that they will be able to be familiar with the way the native speakers say Therefore, native English teachers should limit the activities of games, and focus more on speaking skills for their students On the other hand, the students get trouble in learning English speaking, which is caused by the way the students use words in their mother tongue and translate to the word by word into English In general, the effectiveness of the English- speaking teaching carried out by the native English teachers has not been good The students do not apply and improve speaking English by native English teachers Therefore, the perception of students about the role of native English teachers in learning English is not high
Although there are some disadvantages during the lesson, the author realizes that the achieved results after lessons are very effective for young learners The process native teachers teach English is the period for young learner to practice listening and guessing new words and step by steps they will be familiar with various words, native accents and intonations In the other hand, learning English with native speakers also force students to talk in English In addition, the natural teaching method with more active game and activities create a good motivation for young learner to learn English
4.2.2 The role of native speakers for young learners at the center to speak English
From the point of view of distinguished linguists mentioned in the part 1.2.2.2, Brown (2001) and Harmer (2007) stated that teachers could play integral roles in teaching language such as a controller, a director, a manager, a facilitator, a source, an organizer, a feedback provider, a prompter and a participant Through the data analysis, the author realized that native teachers teaching at the center showed off as much as the above functions However, not all were these roles expressed actively and smoothly The author clarified them in term of advantages and disadvantages
3.2.2.1 The advantages of native teachers
For the first role as a facilitator and a feedback provider, native English teachers are very friendly and enthusiastic with the students As the result, they are also able to increase students‘ motivation and make students become more interested in learning English with various exciting games
Apart from that, they own their native accents and intonations and various vocabulary so their pronunciation is perfect and knowledge of using new words and structure is abundant They will be a pronunciation model in class for students to imitate In the other words, the young learners can improve their pronunciation and enhance their vocabulary with their native teachers In this case, the native speakers play a perfect role of a source
Last but not least, in term of function as a controller, a director, a manager, an organizer, and a participant, they organized game activities humorously, naturally, and energetically
3.2.2.2 The disadvantages of native speakers
Although native speakers expressed their vital functions, some drawbacks that the author had observed during the period of attending the classrooms in English were specifically remained as follows:
It is true that the teaching method of the native English teachers is to let the students play the game at all times and other activities to enhance their speaking English skills are limited
In addition, the native English teachers do not use a variety of methods or innovate teaching methods to teach the students to speak English
Last but not least, the native English teachers neither focus on teaching speaking English to the students nor answer the students' questions They quickly move on to other activities in class
In summary, the teachers implemented all the active roles but their techniques as well as their approach to encourage student to speak English were still limited.
Possible solutions to improve the roles of native speakers in English
Based on the findings of the study, a number of suggestions for improving the role of native speakers will be presented in details as follows
4.3.1 Reinforcing the teaching method quality of native English teachers
It is hoped that learning English speaking with the native teachers help the students develop communication skills By studying with the native speakers, the students will learn natural pronunciation in Standard English, practice listening and speaking skills with foreigners and help them become active and confident To achieve that, the teaching method of native teachers should be improved Most of the native speakers at the center have TESOL and CELTA certificate but these are not suitable enough to teach young learners They should improve their teaching method with TEYLT certificate
4.3.2 Investing more equipment and facilities for a more convenient classroom
A colorful and convenient classroom with good facilities and equipment will create a good environment for learning, help the teaching process of the English teachers achieve high efficiency Moreover, the deployment and application of such facilities should be carried out regularly and seriously The administrative office and the center director should monitor and plan to invest in good facilities for teaching and learning
4.3.3 Motivating the younger learners’ speaking awareness
In spite of the teacher‘s perfect and skillful ability, they would not make their students ideal if they do not follow the idiom ― Practice makes perfect‖ As the result, learners should use English more frequently, both spoken and written To do that, they need to be free in front of class and feel confident to sing, read or even present a topic They also practice singing a song with English music on television with the internet at home or read a dialogue with following of teacher in class
Besides, they also should review the vocabulary that teachers provide them In case of kindergarten and primary level, they need to be followed by their own family For the secondary students, they are able to study by themselves by practicing speaking with friends in class
In generally, the higher motivation to speak English students have, the more progressive they get.
Summary
In this chapter, the author analyzed the specific data and then explore the current situation of English speaking lessons From that, the roles of the native speakers on younger learners‘ learning English speaking was pointed out carefully and clearly More ever, some suggestions for improving their roles in English speaking lessons were also shown
CONCLUSION
Recapitulation
In this study, 50 young learners, who have studied at the center at least
6 months of three training levels including preschool primary and secondary were chosen for the study support At the first part, the author designed a survey questionnaire for the students to recognize the role of native speakers in English speaking lessons from the view of the young students After completing the analysis of the data from the questionnaire, the author started to observe five different classes that the native English teachers teaching speaking English, which aims to find the reality of English speaking lesson as well as understand more the findings in the questionnaire data collected from the students Basing on the reality and roles of native teachers in English speaking lesson, some necessary solutions to improve the roles of native teachers in English speaking lesson will be presented.
Concluding remarks
In this research, the author used the qualitative and quantitative method to list, analyze the data with different aspects such as interaction between teacher and students, teacher‘s preparation before lesson, topic in lesson, activities before, while and after lesson and etc All these aspects were analyzed to answer three research questions that focus on:
2.1 What is the current situation of English speaking lessons of native speakers for young learners at the center?
From the questionnaire data and observation sheets, many advantages were found in English speaking learning lessons with native speakers
Besides, some limitations were also expressed The advantages and disadvantages will be presents as followings:
For the advantages, students can firstly listen to English as well as practice speaking English during native speaker‘s lessons Step by step, they will get used with correct pronunciation and native intonation More ever, the learning atmosphere are always exciting, interesting with different game activities and the native teachers are rather friendly and opened-minded Most of students feel relaxed As the results, these can create a good motivation to learn speaking English for young learners
Regarding to disadvantages, the author found that the native English teachers did not perform their lesson preparation well and provide new words and phrases fully on board so it made students get difficult to understand the lesson Next, there is a limitation for students to present the topic and tell the stories in front of the class or the number of students can do these activities is limited Then, guiding students to make dialogue and presentation in front of class of native teachers haven‘t been implemented The reasons for lack of these activities are because of their lesson plan preparation Besides, most of the activities in English speaking lesson are in game competition among groups so it is difficult for native teachers to check their students‘ pronunciation carefully After all, the interaction among students in English are still limited
2.2 What are the roles of native speakers for young learners at the center to speak English?
In general, the native speakers play a necessary role for learning speaking English of young learners First of all, they are excellent organizers who are good at organizing exciting games and group activities Besides, they are good motivators who are always smiling, friendly and opened-minded, which create a positive motivation for students to pronounce words correctly, speak English more naturally and fluently as well as more confidently In addition, they are gentle participants who can support them to speak by participating in activities with students and they also provide students more idioms, dialect, slang and a generally more extensive vocabulary by using and repeating them during their lesson More ever, they play the good role as a feedback provider who points out the mistake of learners And specially, native speakers are the abundant source on vocabulary as well as a reliable source on pronunciation for learners to practice speaking English
2.3 What should be done to improve the role of English native speakers in teaching English speaking skills for young learners at the Center?
Although native speakers play different roles in English lesson, their teaching method and approach is not effective enough The activities in the classroom are very general and there is no transition among speaking activities so it is not obvious for students to know what they would do next In the other hand, the native English teachers pay attention too much on game activities therefore the remaining activities such as practicing speaking English by looking at pictures and repeating words or enhancing listening, speaking, reading and writing are not implemented fully In addition, the native teachers speak a lot and a number of students are not able follow them
There is no presentation of students or mono talks in front of class so the correction for the learners‘ wrong pronunciation will be limited
In summary, the first improvement is their teaching method, not only focus on game activities but more dialogues, conversations between students and more presentation in front of the class Furthermore, the topics they choose for their students should be easy and familiar to them Besides, the most necessary element to improve their teaching method for their young understand more characteristics, difficulties and good approach with young students
In addition, the learning classroom should be equipped and decorated more conveniently and suitably for young learners‘ activities This problem should be paid attention by the administrative office and director regularly and seriously
3 Limitations and suggestion for the further studies
The first limitation of this study is that the author could not study carefully and precisely on the sample teaching plans of native speakers for younger learners Therefore, an investigation into appropriately speaking teaching methods with well-prepared teaching plans of native speakers should be conducted
The second negative point of this study is that the author was not able to make clear what methods and contents were suitable to each level of kindergarten, elementary and secondary As the result, a study on the difference of speaking teaching methods for each level of young learners should be carried out in the future
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The purpose of this questionnaire is to gather information on the reality of teaching English speaking lessons of native speakers for you at Clever School English Centre From that, the roles of native teachers in English speaking lessons at the Centre will be found as well as some solutions improving the roles of them on learning English speaking for young learners at the center will be proposed So your cooperation plays a very important role in the success of the project Please complete the following tasks in accordance with each instruction Thanks for your cooperation
I Personal information (Thông tin cá nhân)
1 Class( Lớp): ……… a Kindergarten( Mầm non) b Primary( Tiểu học) c Secondary ( Trung học co sở)
2 How long have you studied English at Clever School English Centre?
(Em đã học tiếng Anh được bao lâu rồi?) months Please tick ‗√‘ into the following boxes, each question is selected once only and scored by the following criteria: a) Disagree (Không đồng ý ) b) Neutral (Trung lập ) c) Agree (Đồng ý)
II Information on the current English speaking teaching lessons (Thông tin về thực trạng các tiết học nói tiếng Anh)
(Thực trạng các tiết học nói) Disagree Neutral Agree
( Thú vị và hài ước)
2 More vocabulary on various topics are provided( Được học nhiều từ về các chủ đề khác nhau)
3 English is totally used during lessons (Tiếng anh được sử dụng hoàn toàn trong tiết học)
4 Many games are organized(Có nhiều hoạt động trò chơi)
5 Presentation on a topic in front of class (Học sinh được thuyết trình trước lớp)
6 Some favorite songs or stories are asked to learn by heart( Học thuộc những bài hát câu chuyện ưa thích)
III Information on the roles of native teachers in speaking lessons (Thông tin về vai trò của giáo viên bản xứ trong tiết học nói)
( Vai trò của giáo viên bản ngữ) Disagree Neutral Agree
7 Friendly and enthusisatic (Thân thiện và nhiệt tình)
8 Provide new words and phrases on board
( Viết từ và cấu trúc mới lên bảng)
9 Organize many games in lessons ( Tổ chức nhiều hoạt động vừa học vừa chơi)
10 Present in English slowly and clearly ( Nói tiếng Anh chậm và rõ ràng)
11.Correct student‘s wrong pronunciation (Sửa lỗi phát âm cho học sinh)
12.Guide students to make dialogue or presentation carefully
(Hướng dẫn học sinh hội thoại hoặc thuyết trình cẩn thận)
IV Suggetions for improving the roles of native speakers in English speaking lesson of younger learners
(Những gợi ý nâng cao vai trò của người bản xứ trong tiết học nói tiếng Anh cho trẻ em)
13 What are your favorite activities in speaking lesson by native speakers?
( Những hoạt động mà em thích trong tiết học nói tiếng Anh có người bản xứ?)
Activities ( Các hoạt động) Disagree Neutral Agree
Listen and repeat word ( Nghe và đọc lại từ) Sing English songs
Play role(Đóng vai) Play games (Chơi trò chơi) Tell story( Tập kể chuyện) Others( Hoạt động khác)
14 What are your favorite topics during speaking lesson by native speakers?
(Những chủ đề em thích trong tiết học nói tiếng Anh với người bản xứ)
Topic ( Các chủ đề) Disagree Neutral Agree
Numbers, colors( Số đếm, màu) Family, toys, pets( Gia đình, đồ chơi và vật nuôi)
Clothes, classroom objects(Quần áo, đồ dùng lớp học)
Daily activities( Hoạt động hàng ngày) City (Thành phố)
Course(Khóa/chương trình học):
Number of students( số lượng học sinh): _
Date and Time( Ngày và thời gian):
Respond to each statement using the following scale:
1: Not observed ( Không quan sát được) 2: Need improvement(Cần cải thiện)
3: Accomplished well( Thực hiện tốt)
I TEACHER’S PREPARATION ( Công tác chuẩn bị)
Presented content overview of lesson
Trình bày nội dung tổng quan của bài học
Related today‘s lesson to previous one
Liên kết bài học hôm nay với bài học trước
Wrote speaking words on blackboard
Viết các từ sẽ nói bằng tiếng Anh trên bảng đen
II.TEACHER’S PRESENTATION IN CLASS
(Quá trình giảng dạy của giáo viên trong lớp học)
Presented the tasks and content clearly
Trình bày các nhiệm vụ và nội dung rõ ràng
Chose the activities effectively to achieve the objectives
Lựa chọn các hoạt động hiệu quả để đạt được mục tiêu
Transited among speaking activities for students smoothly
Có sự chuyển tiếp giữa các hoạt động nói cho học sinh
Allotted time for activities in class for students approprietly
Thời gian phân bổ cho các hoạt động trong lớp thích hợp
Listened, understood and gave students effective feedback to
